AF Leagues all use one of five standardized sets of offensive scoring settings (unless approved for custom scoring) to make it easier to compare a team’s performance across leagues. Each scoring format has been developed through multiple seasons of testing and through analyzing the effects of different fantasy scoring rules when actual NFL stats are plugged into the equation. They are designed to balance fantasy scoring against on-field performance across positions, in a way that attempts to take as much luck out of the equation as possible.
All AF offensive scoring settings are designed with three guiding principles in mind:
- There should be a relative parity of value between positions so that a player’s fantasy score is rooted in their actual game day performance more so than just the value of their position. An outstanding performance by a receiver, for example, should be worth more than an average day for a quarterback.
- Fantasy scoring should parallel real world performance as closely as possible. Elite play on Sunday, should translate to elite-level fantasy points in relation to other players’ points, exponentially raising an impact player’s score by a wider margin over average play instead of just incrementally raising it by just a few points
- Every effort should be made to reduce the impact of luck on fantasy scoring. Points should only be awarded for aspects of a player’s performance that are legitimately predictable; i.e. a QB should be rewarded for accumulating high yardage totals, yet receive no additional bonus when a receiver happens to break a particular play for a huge gain.
Read more about the development of AF scoring systems at The Science of Scoring Systems
Side-By-Side Comparison:
AF STANDARD:
Designed as Associated Fantasy’s ‘default’ scoring setting, AF Standard pools from the most common fantasy scoring values and makes a few adjustments to create a balanced, real world set of scoring rules that spread the values of the different skill positions accordingly, and work to remove luck from the fantasy equation. It is very close to ‘NFL Standard’ fantasy settings, and is the only AF Scoring Format that uses decimal scoring.
AF PPR:
AF PPR is the PPR version of AF Standard. PPR adds 1 point per reception. It also rewards the passing game by giving QBs 6 points per passing TD instead of the 4 points they receive in AF Standard, and gives them 1 point per net completion ( + 1point/completion; – 1 point/incompletion). Decimal scoring is replaced with whole-number scoring.
AF ARENA:
AF Arena is a juiced-up version of AF Standard and PPR. Arena produces fast paced, high scoring matches with things like 7 point TDs and an increased rate of points per yardage, while still maintaining a real world balance between point values.
AF MILESTONE
AF Milestone starts with ‘TD only’ scoring settings, and adds balanced bonuses for performance milestones. AF Milestone scoring settings require a player to have made a big difference on the field to make a difference on the fantasy scoreboard. A perfect system for smaller leagues.
AF CENTURY
AF Century is a special use Scoring Setting. It closely mimics AF Milestone in that scoring is limited to just significant pefromance events, but goes further, setting point values to the single point range. This even more so limits fantasy scoring to starting the players that have break-out game days.
